Changes in the buildsystem from KDE 4.0/4.1 to KDE 4.2

Starting with KDE 4.0.0 source compatibility is guaranteed, this
doesn't apply only to the C++ sources, but also to the
CMake interface.

Incompatible Changes

The reduced link interface, details see below. It may be possible that an application which linked against KDE 4.0/4.1 now fails due to unresolved symbols. In this case the libraries which provide these symbols have to be added to the TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES() calls. This happens only if symbols are used but the library is not linked again. This can be considered a bug in the cmake files of these applications. Applications which explicitely link against all libraries they use will build successfully with KDE 4.2.

Other Changes

Required CMake Version

At least version 2.6.2 of CMake is required now. With KDE 4.0 and 4.1 version 2.4.5 was required.

Removed option KDE4_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIB_EXPORT

The option KDE4_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIB_EXPORT was new in KDE 4.1 and enabled the reduced link interface. This is now always the case, so the option became unnecessary.

Removed option KDE4_USE_ALWAYS_FULL_RPATH

KDE4_USE_ALWAYS_FULL_RPATH was by default on. In this case executables, libraries and plugins where linked with RPATH. This caused relinking of these binaries during make install, which takes some time. If it was off, only executables where linked with RPATH, and their RPATH had to be sufficient also for the shared libraries and plugins. This can be the case, but doesn't have to. Applications which were not marked as RUN_UNINSTALLED where built directly with their install RPATH. This saved a lot of time during make install but the resulting install might not get the correct libraries. Since version 2.6 CMake can now edit the RPATH inside binaries, which compared to relinking takes no time.

That's why this option is not necessary anymore, and now all executables, libraries and plugins are always built with their build tree RPATH and then installed with their install tree RPATH, so they always get their correct libraries, both when executed from the build tree as well as when executed from the install tree.

So, if you set this option somewhere, this is no problem with KDE 4.2, it now always does the right thing.

New option KDE4_USE_COMMON_CMAKE_PACKAGE_CONFIG_DIR

With KDE 4.2 and the required CMake 2.6.2 the FIND_PACKAGE() command now supports finding installed configuration files of packages. If the package is named <package>, their configuration file is named <package>Config.cmake. CMake 2.6.2 supports searching these files in lib/<package>/cmake/, a version number may also be included in the directory name: lib/<package>-x.y.z/cmake/.
Starting with version 2.6.3 of CMake (soon to be released as of January 2009), it also supports searching these configuration files in lib/cmake/<package>/ (also with optional version number). This may be preferred by packagers. If a KDE package installs such a configuration file it should check this option, and if enabled install its <package>Config.cmake file to lib/cmake/<package>/ instead of lib/<package>/cmake/.
More at http://www.cmake.org/Wiki/CMake_2.6_Notes#Packages .

This option is only available with CMake >= 2.6.3, in this case it is ON by default. Otherwise it is OFF.

If a package has been installed with this option enabled (which can only be the case with CMake >= 2.6.3), at least CMake 2.6.3 is also required for building packages which use this package. CMake < 2.6.3 will not find their installed <package>Config.cmake files.

Currently only kdepimlibs/ and kdebase/workspace/ install such configuration files.

New: Exporting and importing targets

New: The reduced link interface

How to install libraries correctly now

If a project installs a library, and creates an exported target for it, which can be imported by other projects then, two things have to be done additionally:

Set the link interface

Export the target

Setting the link interface

This defines against which libraries a package which links to this library will be linked additionally automatically. By default the link interface is empty. This is only the case for libraries created using KDE4_ADD_LIBRARY(), if a library is created using the standard ADD_LIBRARY() the link interface is "full" by default.
Put those libraries in the link interface from which symbols are used in the public interface of your library. If e.g. a QWidget appears in your public headers, but nothing from zlib, put QT_QTGUI_LIBRARY in the link interface:

Misc. new CMake features

Finding installed packages

Starting with CMake 2.6 the FIND_XXX() commands now search by default the respective subdirectories under the current CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX and the install prefix of CMake itself.

Additionally now the environment variable CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH is supported. This is a list of directories which are searched by the FIND_XXX() commands with the respective subdirectories appended, i.e. include/ for FIND_PATH() and FIND_FILE(), lib/ for FIND_LIBRARY() and bin/ for FIND_PROGRAM(). These directories are searched before all other directories, so this can be used to make CMake find the versions of packages you want it to find.

E.g. the following can be used to make CMake find required packages in the given directories instead of e.g. a Qt4 installed in /usr/lib :

Comparing version strings

CMake now supports comparing version strings consisting of version 1 to 4 version components:

if(<str> VERSION_GREATER "1.2.3")

if(<str> VERSION_LESS "1.2.3")

Functions

CMake now has a FUNCTION() and an ENDFUNCTION() commands. They can be used similar to MACRO()/ENDMACRO(), but variables created (i.e. SET() ) inside them stay local. To modify a variable outside the function, e.g. as return value, do the following:

Return()

CMake now has a return(), which can be used to return from function()s and also from processed files. See the man page for details.

cmake-gui

cmake-gui is a Qt4 based GUI to CMake. It makes running CMake, setting options, checking results and selecting the generator easier.

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CMake policies

Starting with version 2.6.0 CMake supports so called policies. These policies are used to provide full compatibility between different CMake versions. In some cases bugfixes in CMake can mean that CMake handles something different now. This may break projects which were set up to expect the buggy behaviour. In order to keep them working for each such change a policy is introduced. Each policy can be set to NEW or OLD behaviour. With OLD behaviour the old (buggy) behaviour is active, with NEW behaviour the new and fixed behaviour is active.

The default for the policies depends on the required minimum version of CMakeas defined with CMAKE_MINIMUM_REQUIRED(). The policies can be manipulated using the new CMAKE_POLICY() command.

The policies are set up for KDE4 in FindKDE4Internal.cmake. They are mostly set to be 2.4.x compatible in order to keep source compatibility with KDE 4.0/4.1.